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preference definition

pref·er·ence (pref′ər əns)

noun

  1. a preferring or being preferred; greater liking
  2. the right, power, or opportunity of prior choice or claim
  3. something preferred; one's first choice
    1. a giving of priority or advantage to one person, country, etc. over others, as in payment of debts or granting of credit
    2. such priority or advantage

Etymology: MFr préférence < ML praeferentia < L praeferens, prp. of praeferre, to prefer

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

law preference definition - legal

preference Synonyms

preference

n.

  1. Something preferred

    choice, favorite, first choice, decision; see choice 3.

  2. Inclination

    partiality, liking, inclination, bent; see inclination 1. See syn. study at choice.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

preference Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • express: You do not have to express a preference for a particular boarding house.

Adjective modifier

  • sexual: In my previous review I hinted at his sexual preference, which still does well here to convince me of the fact.

Modifies a noun

  • pane: You'll find your short user name by opening System Preferences and selecting the Users Preference pane.

Noun used with modifier

  • codon: ACKNOWLEDGMENT [ Previous | Top | Next ] The codon preference statistic comes from Gribskov et al.
preference usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

preference quotes

Il faut travailler sinon par go u" t, au moins par de¤  sespoir, puisque, tout bien ve¤  rifie¤  , travailler est moins ennuyeux que s'amuser. We should work: if not by preference, at least out of despair. All things considered, work is less boring than amusement.

-Baudelaire, Charles

Fortunately forpoetsandthosewho liketowalk about in the open air, the beauty of landscape is not something that can be reduced easily to basic geology or a few ready-wrapped phrases about what places are used for. Preference and prejudice creep in.

-Hillaby,John

Ceremony is an invention to take off the uneasy feeling which we derive from knowing ourselves to be less the object of love and esteem with a fellow-creature than some other person is. It endeavours to make up, by superior attentions in little points, for that invidious preference which it is forced to deny in the greater.

-Lamb, Charles

preference quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"preference." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/preference>

APA Style

preference. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/preference

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